Destructive Behaviour
by vjp732
Summary: Gibbs indulges in destructive behaviour after difficult cases. Very minor Gibbs/DiNozzo slash


Gibbs sighed as he heard his front door open. He had no doubts about who was visiting him at 0100h. His suspicions were confirmed when the tall figure of Tony DiNozzo appeared on the steps leading to the basement.

It wasn't the first time that DiNozzo had shown up at Gibbs' house in the middle of the night. It was always after a really tough case, one that was draining both physically and mentally. This latest case had been one of those.

Gibbs ignored the presence for almost two hours, sanding away at the ribs of a boat and drinking bourbon, until he couldn't take it anymore. It was unusual for DiNozzo to be so silent. Gibbs thought that maybe the younger man had fallen asleep, but glancing over, he could see that the man was staring back at him.

''Do you need something DiNozzo?'' His question was met with silence. Gibbs took another swig of bourbon before continuing. ''Don't you have anything better to do than to sit around and watch your drunk boss build a boat in his basement?''

DiNozzo observed with a passive silence that was aggravating Gibbs. ''Why won't you answer me? Are you too much of a coward to talk? I could call you any name I wanted to, and you would just lie down and take it. You're too much of a coward to stand up for yourself. You're a disgrace and a disappointment. It's all you've ever been.''

Gibbs thought he saw a flash of hurt in the green eyes, but it only lasted a second before the mask was back up. His attempts to goad the agent into speech had failed. He just hoped that DiNozzo would be able to realize that the harsh words were merely a reflection of Gibbs' own sentiments. Gibbs threw the empty bourbon at the wall in frustration.

Within seconds, DiNozzo was in front of Gibbs, holding his wrists and restraining the older man.

''Enough.'' It was spoken quietly, but the tone was hard and commanding. Gibbs struggled against the hold for a few moments before giving up. He leaned against the strong, safe body. Tony let go of Gibbs' wrists, and put his arms around his shoulders. They stayed like this for a long time.

Gibbs drew back and stared into the other man's eyes. Despite the intimate moment that they had just shared, DiNozzo's eyes were empty and void of emotion.

''Why did you come here?'' Gibbs asked quietly.

''You have a tendency to indulge in destructive behaviour when you're drunk and depressed.''

Tony would never forget the first night that he had witnessed such behaviour. It had been not long after Kate's death. It was Gibbs' anniversary with wife number x, the one who always called him, so Tony had not been surprised when he had been unable to get a hold of Gibbs.

_''Tony, I can't get a hold of Gibbs. His phone is turned off,'' McGee said, his voice filled with worry._

_''Don't worry, Probie. I'll go get him and meet you at the crime scene. I had to get him last year, and the year before that, too. He always turns his phone off on his anniversary. Go get Ducky, I'll meet you there.''_

_With that, Tony had driven to Gibbs house. He let himself in, and looked around. He could hear the television in the basement, indicating that Gibbs was working on his boat. Tony descended into the basement, and was about to call out, but he stopped when he saw the scene in front of him._

_Gibbs was sitting on the floor, leaning against the boat. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He was lost in thought, and had not heard Tony enter the room. While all of these things were worrisome, the scariest part of the scene was the gun that Gibbs was holding against his head._

_Tony froze, unsure of his actions. This wasn't some marine who was tired of life, this was his boss, mentor, and sometimes lover. Tony knew that he had to tread carefully, but he wasn't sure of just how carefully._

_Tony slowly approached the troubled man, not wanting to startle him. Tony was about to speak when he heard the click of the hammer being pulled back. Tony lunged forward and grabbed the gun, just as Gibbs pulled the trigger. _

_The bullet missed Gibbs, and went on to shatter a bottle of bourbon on the top shelf of the work bench. Tony wrestled the gun from Gibbs' grasp, and removed the bullets._

_Gibbs remained silent, horrified at what he had just attempted. He turned to face his second, only to look away, ashamed that he had caused the panic and fear that was on Tony's face._

_Gibbs opened his mouth to talk, feeling that he owed Tony an explanation, but he was interrupted by the shrill ringing of a phone._

_''DiNozzo... Yes, McGee. We'll be there in a few minutes... I trust that you can start processing the scene on your own... You've been an agent for a year, you must have learned at least something about processing crime scenes... Goodbye, McGee.''_

_Tony looked down at his boss. ''I gotta go. Do you want to come?''_

_''Yeah, yeah. Look, Tony, I... I need to explain to you...''_

_''Never do that again, okay? We gotta go before the Probie freaks out at having been left in charge of a crime scene.'' Tony ran up the stairs before Gibbs could respond._

_At the crime scene, Tony pretended that nothing had happened, and Gibbs only realized afterwards that Tony had kept his gun for the whole day._

''Are you okay?'' Gibbs voice drew Tony out of his recollections.

''Yeah, I was just remembering the first time I found you down here having a hard time.''

''What happened?'' After the explosion, and his little Mexican vacation, Gibbs couldn't remember a first time. It was expected that Tony would show up when he was feeling down, he had been for as long as Gibbs could remember, which was apparently only a few years.

''If you don't remember, then I'm not going to tell you. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?''

Tony gently shoved Gibbs up the stairs and into the bedroom. ''Sleep,'' he said.

''Tony, I'm...''

''Don't worry. I'll still be here in the morning.'' Tony left the room, leaving Gibbs to his thoughts.

Gibbs knew that Tony would lie on the couch, staying up all night. He wouldn't break his promise. Tony had always been there for Gibbs, always had his six. Tony was always the one to notice when Gibbs was cracking, and it was usually Tony who put him back together.

But then Gibbs had a troubling thought. Tony had always been there for him, but Gibbs had never been there for Tony.

What happens when Tony DiNozzo starts breaking?


End file.
